Chennai(PTI) On expected lines, Tamil Nadu's principal opposition party, the AIADMK on Monday elected Edappady K Palaniswami (EPS) as its Interim General Secretary and vested in him full powers to helm the organisation.

In its Executive Committee and General Council meeting held here, the AIADMK endorsed scrapping the erstwhile top two positions of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator held by O Panneerselvam and (OPS) Palaniswami, respectively.

The party has also formally resolved to hold organisational polls in 4 months to elect General Secretary. It has amended several bylaws, which includes fresh norms and prerequisites to fight for the top party position of General Secretary.

In total, 16 resolutions were adopted. While Panneerselvam is the party treasurer, senior leader and former Minister C Vijayabaskar presented accounts related to party finances in the meet. It is seen as a clear indication that OPS would soon be eased out of his position.

The first resolution extended its greetings to partymen elected in the recent organisational polls for various levels. The second resolution urged the Centre to confer 'Bharat Ratna' on late leaders-- social justice icon Periyar E V Ramasamy, Dravidian movement's father figure CN Annadurai, and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.

Incidentally, Jayalalithaa helmed the party for decades as its powerful general secretary while her close aide, VK Sasikala, was made interim general secretary for a brief period following the former's death in December 2016.

Sasikala, who was later convicted and sentenced in a disproportionate assets case, was subsequently sacked from the post in 2017 by a then AIADMK GC.

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Bengaluru(PTI): An Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Kochi made an emergency landing at Bengaluru after a fire was noticed in one of the engines, the Bangalore International Airport Limited said on Sunday.

All the passengers and crew were evacuated and no one was injured, Air India Express said in a statement. According to sources, the fire was noticed minutes after the take off.

The crew members alerted the Air Traffic Controller and a full scale emergency was declared.

Soon after emergency landing at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, the fire was extinguished.

"On May 18, 2024, IX 1132 from Bengaluru to Kochi made an emergency landing at BLR Airport at 2312 hrs, due to a reported fire in one of the engines," a spokesperson of the BIAL, which manages KIA, said in a statement.

A full-scale emergency was declared, and the fire was promptly extinguished upon landing. All 179 passengers and six crew members have been successfully evacuated from the aircraft, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) spokesperson said.

An Air India Express spokesperson said that due to suspected flames from the right engine after takeoff, the Bengaluru- Kochi flight 'elected' to return and carried out a precautionary landing at Bengaluru . The ground services also reported flames, resulting in an evacuation.

"The crew accomplished an evacuation with no injuries to any guests. We regret the inconvenience this has caused and are working to provide alternative arrangements for our guests to reach their destination as soon as possible," it said.

"A thorough investigation with the regulator shall be accomplished to establish the cause,” it said.